1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a watertight connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known watertight connector has a ring-shaped seal mounted on the outer peripheral surface of a female housing. The female housing can be fit into a receptacle of a male connector so that a clearance between the inner peripheral surface of the receptacle and the outer peripheral surface of the female housing is held watertight by the seal.
A good watertight performance in a connector of this type requires the sealing surfaces of both housings to be smooth and a degree of resilient deformation of the sealing member needs to be uniform over the entire circumference. However, the sealing surface on the outer peripheral surface of the female housing may not necessarily be smooth depending on the inner construction of the female housing. For example, resiliently deflectable locks may be formed along the inner wall surfaces of the cavities in the female housing for locking the female terminal fittings in the cavities. The sealing surface may be defined in an area having a back-to-back relationship with the locks and may be located behind the locks. The thickness between the inner surface of the cavity and the corresponding outer peripheral surface of the housing is the sum of the thickness of the lock, the thickness of the deformation permitting space for the lock and the thickness of the wall on the side of the deformation permitting space opposite the lock. Thus, portions of the wall of the housing near the deformation permitting space and the lock are likely to be very thick, and these thick portions of the walls are likely to include the sealing surface on the outer periphery of the female housing.
A deformation called a xe2x80x9csink markxe2x80x9d often occurs during the resin molding of a thick part. Thus, a xe2x80x9csink markxe2x80x9d is likely to be formed at part of the sealing surface along the thick area of the wall, and that part of the sealing surface may not be smooth.,
The present invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object thereof is to prevent a deformation of a sealing surface resulting from formation of a xe2x80x9csink markxe2x80x9d during resin molding.
The invention is directed to a watertight connector constructed such that a clearance between a sealing surface on the outer peripheral surface of a housing made of a synthetic resin and the inner peripheral surface of a mating connector can be sealed by a sealing member. The connector has at least one cavity formed in the housing for receiving at least one terminal fitting. At least one lock is arranged along an inner wall surface of the cavity for preventing the corresponding terminal fitting from coming out. The lock is arranged along an inner wall surface of the cavity that has a back-to-back relationship with the sealing surface and preferably is spaced from or before the sealing surface along the longitudinal direction of the watertight connector. At least one cut-away portion or channel is formed in a wall portion between the sealing surface and the inner wall surfaces of the cavity that has a back-to-back relationship with the sealing surface by cutting the inner wall surface of the cavity. Thus, even if the wall is thick, a xe2x80x9csink markxe2x80x9d is not likely to be formed when the connector housing is molded by the mold and a deformation of the sealing surface resulting from the xe2x80x9csink markxe2x80x9d can be prevented.
Preferably, the channels are formed along the widthwise left and right edges of the inner wall surfaces of the cavities having a back-to-back relationship with the sealing surface.
Mold-removal slits preferably are formed at the opposite sides of the locks by removing a mold when the connector housing is molded. The channels and the mold-removal slits preferably communicate with each other. The channels are wider than the mold-removal slits. Thus, the mold for forming the channels can be wider and stronger.
A mating connector preferably can be pulled into the connector housing and connected therewith by a cam action of a cam mechanism when a lever on the watertight connector is rotated.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that even though embodiments are separately described, single features thereof may be combined to additional embodiments.